Fire-escape



(No Model.)

A. WALKER;

FIRE, ESCAPE.

No. 295,313. Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

WITNESSES: ,gy V v INVENTOR:

/ ATTORNEYS.

n. FEI'EBS. Pnowlmw mpmn Wliinglom Dc AARON WALKER, O F KOKOMO, INDIANA.

FiRE-ESCAPE.

srncrrroa'rron forming art of Letters Patent No. 295,313, dated March 18, 1884.

Application filed January 24, 188-1. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Ann-or: Linton, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Iniprovements in Fire-Escapes, of which the fol lowing is a description.

Figure l is a front elevation, with the hood -01 housing for the Windlass in section; and

Fig. 2 is an end elevation,with the hood in section.

Myinvention relates to certain improvements upon that 1" orm of fireescape in which a swing ing balcony is suspended from a Windlass at the top of the house, and is raised and lowered by means of ropes and pulleys. It relates more part-icuiarly to my own patent granted September 4, 1883, No. 284,517, in which the balcony is suspended in thebiglit or loop of a rope, one end of which rope connects with a large drum of a differential windlass on one side, and the other end of which rope connects with a small drum on the opposite side. vVith this differential Windlass I find that the weight of the balcony exerts a greater leverage on the larger drum of the windlass, and in unwinding the latter against the small drum allows the balcony to descend.

My present invention consistsin combining with such a windlass one or more ropes, pulleys, and weights, that oppose the unwinding of the large drum and the winding up of the small drum, whereby the balcony is balanced and remains stationary at any desired point.

The invention also consists in the peculiar arrangement of guide-bars to keep the ropes in place, and in other details of construction, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings, A represents the front of the building, at the upper portion of which, near the roof, is arranged the differential windlass mounted in hearings in brackets B B. This Windlass is covered and protected from the weather by ahood or housing, 0, which may be permanently fixed in place or detachably fastened by means of books and staples, as shown.

Instead of one pair of differential drums, as in my former patent, I employ two pairs, D D and E E, and two ropes, D and E, and two pulleys, D E, fixed to the balcony F, and suspended in the bights or loops of the two ropes.

By duplicating these drums, ropes, and pulleys, and placing one set at each end of the balcony, I cause the latter to be more steadily suspended, and dispense entirely with the side guides for the balcony, as shown inmy prior patent.

Near the middle of the windlass there are two drums, G G, upon which are wound two ropes, H H. One of these ropes, H, descends to and is wound around a pulley, I, on the balcony, which is provided with a crank, c, a ratchet-wheel, Z2, and a pawl, c, and the other rope passes through an eye, at, Fig. 2, in the hood, and extends to the ground. The rope H, extending to the balcony, affords means for winding up the windlass and balcony by the persons on the balcony, and serves also as a brake or regulator in the hands of the persons on the balcony, to regulate the dc scent of the same by taking hold of the crank and slowly unwinding it.

To stop and lock the balcony at any given point, the pawl c is thrown into engagement with the ratchet-wheel b. The other rope, which extends to the ground, affords means for raising or lowering the balcony from the ground in a similar manner. Now, in the connection of the two ends of each of the ropes D E to the windlass, it will be seen that one end of each connects with a large druin, D or E, and the other end with the smaller drum, D or E, and as the weight of the balcony strains equally upon both sides of each rope, and the ropes on the larger drum exert a greater leverage and winding strain on the Windlass than the ropes on the smaller drum, it will be seen that the larger drum will unwind and wind up the smaller drum when a sufficient weight is on the balcony. To counteract this I construct pulleys or drums J J on the ends of the windlass and provide ropes K K and weights L L for them, which ropes pass around the pulleys, while the weights are fastened to pull upon the opposite side of the pulleys from the connection of the cord D on the larger drums. The ends of these ropes may either be attached to the balcony or be simply wound around and fastened to the wind lass. The function of these cords and weights is to neutralize the difference of strain of the two ends of therope in their attachment to the two drums by resisting the turn of the larger ICO drums and co-operating with the turn of the smaller drum.

M M are two rods, which extend horizontally the full length of the balcony, and are then bent down and connected to the hand-rail and floor at each end. These two rods are arranged parallel to each other and close together, and

between them pass all of the ropes running to the balcony. These rods serve as guides to keep the ropes in place and act to some extent as brakes as the ropes pass between them. They furthermore render the balcony stiffer and less liable to tip or turn about its points of suspension.

N N are cushion-strips, of rubber or other softmateriaharranged attheendsofthebalcony on the sides next to the wall, to prevent bruising the balcony or the wall.

0 is a gate in the hand-rail of the balcony, by which ingress and egress to or from the balconyis had when the balconyis on the ground.

P are openings in the wall of the balcony, next to the building, through which access may be had to the balcony from the windows of the building. These openings are provided with sliding doors Q for closing the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. The c'ombi'natiomwith awindlass having differential drums, ropes attached to said drums, and a balcony hung in the bight or loop of the rope, of a counter -weight and rope, arranged as described, to oppose the unwinding of the larger drum, as and for the purpose described. 7 3 5 2. The combination, with the differential Windlass having drums of different diameters, and one or more suspending ropes for the balcony, of a drum, G, rigidly connected to the Windlass, the rope H, the pulley I on the 0 balcony, with crank a, ratchet-wheel b, and pawl c, as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with the differential Windlass having differential drums D D and E E, and drums G G, arranged between them and 4 5 working rigidly with the Windlass, of the balcony having pulleys D E, the two suspendingropes D E, and the two working-ropes H H, one of the same being extended to the ground, and the other wound about a crank-pulley on the balcony, as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination,with a Windlass, a balcony, and suspending-ropes, of the two horizontal guide-rods M M, inclosing the ropes between them, and rendering the balcony stiff against tipping or rocking about its point of suspension, as described.

5. A fire-escape balcony provided with elastic cushions or buffers on its side next to the wall, in combination with hoisting-ropes'and a Windlass, as and for the purpose described.

\ AARON WALKER.

\Vitnesses: p

A. B. KIRKPATRICK,

N. B. SMITH. 

